On August 27, 1893 a major hurricane which came to be known as the Sea Islands

Sea Islands

The Sea Islands are a chain of tidal and barrier islands on the Atlantic Ocean coast of the United States. They number over 100, and are located between the mouths of the Santee and St. Johns Rivers along the coast of the U.S...

 Hurricane struck the United States near Savannah, Georgia

Savannah, Georgia

Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...

. It was one of two deadly hurricanes during the 1893 Atlantic hurricane season

1893 Atlantic hurricane season

The 1893 Atlantic hurricane season ran through the summer and the first half of fall in 1893. The 1893 season was fairly active, with 12 tropical storms forming, 10 of which became hurricanes. Of those, 5 became major hurricanes...

; the storm killed an estimated 1,000–2,000 people, mostly from storm surge. This is also the storm that made famous United States Life-Saving Service

United States Life-Saving Service

The United States Life-Saving Service was a United States government agency that grew out of private and local humanitarian efforts to save the lives of shipwrecked mariners and passengers...

 Keeper Dunbar Davis

Dunbar Davis

Dunbar John Davis was a Keeper in the United States Life-Saving Service. During his service he was the Keeper at the Cape Fear Station and was later transferred to the Oak Island Station in 1892. Davis is known for his numerous rescues at sea, but is most famous for his daring rescue during a...

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Modern analysis of historical records has allowed the history of this storm to be pieced together, although the analysis is only estimations since few accurate meteorological records were taken.

On August 15, a tropical storm formed east of Cape Verde

Cape Verde

The Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...

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